John and Thady Gosden will give Nashwa more time before plotting a course with the Classic-winning filly, following her surprise defeat at Newcastle on Friday evening.

The dual Group One winner has not got her head in front since landing the Nassau at Goodwood last year and two runs this term in lesser company have failed to see her add a fifth career success.

Third in the Oaks last year, the Frankel filly was half a length adrift of Al Husn over 10 furlongs in her latest run on the all-weather surface at the Gosforth Park track.

“I wasn’t too unhappy with her. She will be fine. She is taking her time to come to herself. A lot of fillies can take time,” said John Gosden of the four-year-old, who gained a first top-level success under Hollie Doyle when taking the Prix de Diane at Chantilly.

“We’ll give her a bit of time and see how she is, but she is OK and has taken it well enough.”

Emily Upjohn and Paddington feature among a small but select field of six horses still in contention for the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown on Saturday.

John and Thady Gosden’s Emily Upjohn made a tremendous start to her campaign in the Coronation Cup at Epsom last month and looks set to step back from a mile and a half to a mile and a quarter, with William Buick taking over in the saddle from the suspended Frankie Dettori.

Aidan O’Brien said last week that a step up in distance was under consideration for his Irish 2,000 Guineas and brilliant St James’s Palace Stakes hero Paddington and he was left in at Monday’s confirmation stage alongside his stablemate Luxembourg.

The latter notched his third Group One win in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh in May, since when he has finished second to Mostahdaf in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.

The Owen Burrows-trained Anmaat is in line to bid for back-to-back top-level wins after landing the Prix d’Ispahan on his latest appearance, while Dubai Honour may return from a short break after winning two Group Ones in Australia and finishing third in the QEII Cup in Hong Kong earlier in the year.

The potential line-up is completed by Simon and Ed Crisford’s West Wind Blows, who produced a career-best when second to Pyledriver in the Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal meeting.

There will be no repeat Coral-Eclipse bid from Jean-Claude Rouget this year as his latest impressive Prix du Jockey Club champion Ace Impact is currently enjoying a quiet time ahead of a return in the autumn.

Last year, the crack French handler saddled Vadeni to strike at Sandown on the back of a taking success in the French Derby.

However, with the unbeaten Ace Impact having run three times in the early part of the season, connection have resisted the temptation of another raiding mission for their Chantilly hero and will instead focus on targets towards the back-end of the season.

“He’s quiet at the moment and waiting for the autumn now, you will see him in August or September,” said Rouget.

It appears likely that autumn campaign will be centred around peaking for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on October 1 and when asked if Europe’s richest middle-distance prize will be on the agenda for Ace Impact, Rouget added: “Of course, yes.”

Likely to join Ace Impact at ParisLongchamp for the 12-furlong Group One is Vadeni, who could attempt to go one better than last year’s half-length second to Alpinista providing he comes through his intended next outing at Deauville with flying colours.

The son of Churchill is also having an easy time following his below-par showing in the Tattersalls Gold Cup, but is pencilled in to return on August 13 in a race Rouget has won for the past two seasons with Wally.

Rouget said: “Up to now we will run at Deauville in August in the Gontaut-Biron, Group Three. If he is then OK, he will then perhaps run in the Arc.”

William Haggas says he is in no rush to make a plan for the King’s Royal Ascot winner Desert Hero.

A son of Sea The Stars, the three-year-old earned a third success in five career starts when recording a famous victory under Tom Marquand in the King George V Stakes.

The head victory over Valiant King gave the King and Queen their first success at the meeting.

The Newmarket handler feels he will not make a quick return to the track, however.

He said: “It was a great day. He’s fine, but I don’t know quite what we will do.

“He would have had a very hard race there, so we are not in any rush to make a plan.

“We will have to see how we go. There’s nothing in mind long-term, not really.”

Meanwhile, Tiber Flow, who won Newcastle’s Group Three Chipchase Stakes on Saturday, could prove difficult to place, according to the handler.

Marquand’s mount beat Spycatcher in the six-furlong all-weather contest by neck to make it four wins from five starts on artificial surfaces.

Haggas said: “It was nice for Jon and Julia Aisbitt, they bred him. His half-brother (Godwinson) won at Hamilton on Thursday to become their 100th winner, which is a fantastic achievement.

“Then the older brother wins a Group race at Newcastle, so it is fantastic.

“We wanted to run him in the Wokingham, but he needs cut in the ground.

“So, the Chipchase was a very nice option, too. I don’t know yet where we’ll go. He would be in the Hackwood (Newbury) with a penalty.

“There are penalties everywhere now. That’s a crime for winning a Group race, but we’ll see. He has won a Group race off a rating of 106, so life could be tough with his penalty.”

Shane Foley returned from injury with a winner as Jessica Harington’s Bold Discovery won for the first time since his debut in the Dubai Duty Free Celebration Stakes at the Curragh.

Foley faced a race against time to be fit for the Irish Derby having broken his collar bone almost four weeks ago and while he had no joy on Sprewell in the big race, he left happy enough with a Listed winner.

Bold Discovery looked a very promising type when scoring first time out at two and he went on to be placed in the Killavullan Stakes.

He had been highly tried this season, finishing behind Paddington the last twice, most recently in the Irish Guineas.

Down markedly in class, he was sent off at 18-1 with Dermot Weld’s filly Tarawa all the rage on the back of her fast-finishing fourth in the Irish 1000 Guineas behind her stablemate Tahiyra.

With just over a furlong to run, Bold Discovery took over from Pretreville and held off the challenge of Tarawa by half a length.

Harrington said: “That’s what he was showing us earlier in the year.

“He had allergies and kept scoping wrong after his races, but we’ve been able to treat them since the Guineas and he’s all right now.

“He loved going around that bend and for a big horse, he goes on that quick ground.

“That was really good and I’d say he will come forward from that and get a bit of confidence.”

Sprewell came home sixth in the Irish Derby after being hampered by San Antonio, who suffered a fatal injury over four furlongs out.

Harrington added: “Sprewell is OK. He just got interfered with at the wrong time and probably wasn’t quite letting himself down on the ground.

“I shut my eyes for a second and thought he was going to fall and Shane was going to fall again. It’s amazing what goes through your mind in half a second.

“He’ll live to fight another day.”

Auguste Rodin gave Aidan O’Brien his 100th European Classic win as he fended off stablemate Adelaide River in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh.

The Epsom hero was also a first winner in the race for Ryan Moore as he came home a length and a half clear, with Covent Garden ensuring a clean sweep of the places for the Ballydoyle team in third.

However, the race was marred by a serious injury to San Antonio, another O’Brien runner, who broke down badly on the turn for home, giving Wayne Lordan a nasty fall.

Adelaide River (4-11 favourite) set the pace under Seamie Heffernan with Moore happy to take a lead into the straight.

When he loomed upsides two furlongs from home it looked as if Auguste Rodin would go away and win impressively, but it was not until the final 100 yards that he eventually put the race to bed.

Auguste Rodin is the first horse since Harzand in 2016 to follow up victory at Epsom in the Irish equivalent.

Dual Stewards’ Cup winner Commanche Falls added a Listed race to his CV when registering a determined success in the Jebel Ali Racecourse & Stables Dash Stakes at the Curragh.

Winning for the 10th time in his career, the six-year-old was having his first run in Ireland as he came home a length and a quarter clear.

Coming in off arguably a career-best effort when third behind his Michael Dods-trained stablemate and July Cup fancy Azure Blue in the Duke of York Stakes, he was sent off the 5-4 favourite.

By halfway Connor Beasley was hard at work as Anthem National and Mooneista went for home.

However, a trait in most of Commanche Falls’ victories is that the strongest part of his race is the finish and when he hit the front just over a furlong out, he was only just getting into top gear.

He had Anthem National back in second, with Mooniesta a further half-length back in third.

The winner was cut to 12-1 from 14s for a third win in the Coral Stewards’ Cup by the sponsors.

Dods’ daughter and assistant Chloe said: “He always takes a while to warm into his races and you would be worried if he wasn’t like that. Connor thinks he will be a better horse in a better race.

“He’s really chilled at home and doesn’t sweat at all. He’s a very chilled out horse and good to train.

“The races for him in the UK are quite limited, so that’s why we came here. I don’t think we will be put off coming here again if there is something.

“He got too high to run in handicaps and has stepped up to stakes races. He’s performed well in them and my dad said the York run was probably his best run.

“We were going to go to Ascot for the Wokingham but he was too high and came here instead.”

Adrian Murray bagged himself another big juvenile prize as Bucanero Fuerte battled back to edge out Unquestionable in the GAIN Railway Stakes at the Curragh.

Murray sprang an almighty surprise at Royal Ascot when Valiant Force won the Norfolk Stakes at 150-1.

Bucanero Fuerte (100-30) had also run at Royal Ascot, and with real credit when third in the Coventry Stakes, but that was only 12 days ago and there was a worry this Group Two was coming too soon.

He looked set to come off second best when pulling clear with Aidan O’Brien’s Unquestionable.

To his immense credit, though, the Wootton Bassett colt would not accept defeat and got himself in front right on the line to win by a short head.

The victory was a second in three years for Rossa Ryan, who also took the prize on David Loughnane’s Go Bears Go in 2021.

Murray said: “He’s a tough horse. We took a chance running him today quick after Ascot and he didn’t let us down.

“Robson (Aguiar, assistant trainer) said he was on fire during the week and we had no other option only to go for it.

“He’s entered in the Phoenix Stakes and he could go to France, we are not sure yet.

“We’ll give him a bit of a break now. He’s a big backward horse and we are not going to rush him. He’s had two quick runs.

“We’ll definitely step him up in trip as that’s what won it for him today. We made plenty of use of him as we knew he would see it out.

“He likes a bit of dig in the ground and if anything it was a bit quick for him today.”

Aguiar added: “We train in Mullingar and I joined Adrian about five years ago. This horse has plenty of pace and ran well in Ascot. He won over six today and can go further.

“We paid €165,000 for him (as a yearling at Arqana) which I think is cheap as he’s by Wootton Bassett, who is a great sire, and the mare has produced black type (Group One winner Wooded).”

Charlie Appleby and Godolphin are used to dining at the top table and by their lofty standards, the first part of the season has not been an easy one.

Though Godolphin took a Classic when Mawj landed the 1000 Guineas for Saeed bin Suroor, the royal blue silks have not been seen with regularity in many of the top races.

Though Appleby’s 28 per cent strike-rate is among the best, with 52 winners from 185 runners this year, his yard had an unusually disappointing Royal Ascot with no winners from 18 runners.

However, he remains confident the tide will turn and with some smart juveniles already unveiled, has high hopes Sheikh Mohammed’s operation will thrive in the coming months.

“At the end of the day, you play the cards your are dealt with,” said Appleby.

“As we know, at the back end of last year, we didn’t have a champion two-year-old.

“That will always show in terms of three-year-olds, needless to say. If you are not in the first three in the Dewhurst, National Stakes, Futurity Trophy or Fillies’ Mile, you are not, realistically, going to be bang there in the Classic picture the following year, and that’s where we were.”

He went on: “It is nothing to worry about 100 per cent. Ascot was one bad week.

“At the end of the day, we have a team who have a system in place and we know it works. The most important thing is to keep a good, steady hand on the tiller.

“I’m happy with the way the two-year-olds are progressing and we knew we would have to place the three-year-olds in the races we knew where, hopefully, they would be the most competitive. The Classics were not realistically our target.”

On Saturday at Newmarket, he unleashed Dance Sequence, who looked a filly of immense promise. The strapping daughter of Dubawi could develop into a Classic contender next season, following her eyecatching success in a fillies’ maiden.

Appleby is also looking forward to running Ancient Wisdom, a Dubawi colt who won by five lengths on debut at Haydock and then followed up under James Doyle in a seven-furlong novice race at Newmarket last week.

Appleby said: “I’m very pleased with him. He is two from two. I brought him up here (Newmarket) with a mindset obviously towards the Superlative Stakes, just to gain course experience.

“The ground was quick enough that day, James felt. He has a bit of a knee action on him and he has a pedigree, as you know.

“He is going to be a next-year horse. I am not going to be forcing him to come here again.

“But if conditions and himself are right, we’ll be here for the Superlative. If not, we will look towards Sandown for the Solario.

“A race I have in my mind for him, which is a race we have used many times for our nice two-year-olds, is the National Stakes. That is what I am working back from.”

Imperial Emperor won a maiden on his debut on the Rowley Mile course last October and made a winning return to action in a mile novice on the July Course last week.

A late developer, he also appears a promising type with plenty to look forward to as a four-year-old next year.

“I was delighted with him off a long lay-off,” said Appleby. “He is a horse who has had to be managed well by the team there.

“We toyed whether he was a mile or a mile-and-a-quarter horse.

“On what we’ve seen so far, we’re happy to stick to the mile and therefore we will aim towards the Sir Henry Cecil Stakes before we start stepping him up.

“He has a page, a pedigree that would suggest going further. He will be a nice horse and is definitely one for next year, we hope.”

Dazzling Star was another recent winner for the Moulton Paddocks handler.

She stepped up on her Kempton debut to score in style in a six-furlong fillies’ maiden at Newmarket on Friday evening.

“We were very happy with her and was pleased with her performance,” said Appleby.

“She has been a filly at home who has pleased us one morning and disappointed us the next. She is a bit like that. We got back on track with her on Friday.”

Meanwhile, Great Truth, another son of Dubawi who took apart a Leicester novice field by five and a half lengths and more on debut, looks another colt full of potential.

“Very pleased with that first run,” added the trainer. “A first foal out of Beyond Reason, a filly we know.

“He has come out of the race well, but we haven’t got a go-to race at the moment.

“Whether we go down a novice route or step him up into something a little bit punchier, we’ll see.

“We have a nice bunch of two-year-olds and there is plenty to look forward to. There’s certainly nothing to worry about.”

Owner John Deer has revealed his desire to try to win the Prix de l’Abbaye for a third time following Saint Lawrence’s Royal Ascot triumph.

Although a regular in some of the best sprinting contests over the past few seasons, the son of Al Kazeem was scoring for the first time since landing the Denford Stakes during his two-year-old days when storming to Wokingham glory – the last leg of a treble for Archie Watson and Hollie Doyle at the big meeting.

It was also Saint Lawrence’s first run for Lambourn-based Watson and having credited former handler Roger Varian for his input regarding the five-year-old’s switch from Newmarket, Deer – who enjoyed Prince of Wales’s Stakes glory with Al Kazeem – is keen to leave future plans to Watson.

“To have won twice there is quite fantastic really,” said Deer of his latest trip to the Royal Ascot winner’s enclosure.

“Roger Varian was very good and without any prompting suggested that perhaps a change of scenery might benefit the horse. Who knows, but there was a hell of an improvement. That improvement may have come with Roger in Newmarket, no one will ever know, but from my point of view it was sensational really.

“There has been such a change now in his performance that I’m just going to leave it (running plans) to his trainer and hope for the best!”

It was somewhat appropriate that Saint Lawrence should win the Wokingham for Deer, with the owner-breeder having seen his Averti withdrawn at the start when fancied for the race in 1996 and like the William Muir-trained sprinter, Deer hopes Saint Lawrence will one-day carry his colours at ParisLongchamp on Arc day.

He explained: “Many many years ago I had a very good horse called Averti with William Muir and he was supposed to be favourite for the Wokingham.

“He had been in the stalls for a long time and the horse that came in next to him played up and Averti got frightened or something and he was pulled out and didn’t run. That was a pity because he was a lovely horse and deserved a big race like that.

“He went on to be second in the Abbaye (in 1998) and then subsequently Patavellian (2003) and Avonbridge (2005) went on to win that race, so I think I have got close to breeding three of them.

“I would love to win the Abbaye again and he would be a candidate. Whether he goes this year I don’t know, but if he didn’t I would want him to go next year.”

Derby-winning jockey Martin Dwyer has announced his retirement from the saddle having failed to recover from a serious knee injury.

Dwyer has been on the sidelines since March 2022 due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee.

The Liverpudlian has undergone several surgeries on his knee but they have failed to offer enough improvement to enable him to return to the saddle.

Dwyer rode over 1,500 winners and partnered Sir Percy to Derby glory for Marcus Tregoning in 2006.

“It’s tough saying it out loud, I’ve got my head around it, I’ve known for quite a while now I’ve been struggling with the injury,” Dwyer told Racing TV.

“I’ve thrown the kitchen sink at the rehab. I went to see the surgeon again when I had another operation two months ago and he said it’s not going to be stable enough or strong enough to ride professionally.

“It is what it is and I’ve just got to get on with it.

“It’s been tough, obviously. I’ve been in pain for a long time, it just throbs constantly but I’ve been in good hands and the team at Oaksey House have been brilliant.”

Looking ahead to the future, he said: “I’m getting back to some normality but I’ve just got to accept my career is over and I’ve just got to get on with things. It’s tough because I’m not finishing on my terms.

“I’d like to go out like Frankie (Dettori) and do a world tour, but I’d probably be at Wolverhampton and Southwell!

“It’s been a tough year or so, but it’s time to move on to the next chapter. It’s been a journey that has been unbelievable.”

As well as winning the Derby, Dwyer also won the Oaks in 2003 on Andrew Balding’s Casual Look and took the King Edward VII Stakes, Great Voltigeur and Coronation Cup on Pyledriver, trained by his father-in-law, William Muir.

Jason DaCosta's Mamma Mia, the 1000 Guineas winner, and Richard Azan's 2000 Guineas conqueror Mojito, were both hunting what would have been the second jewel in the Triple Crown series, but Thalita, also conditioned by DaCosta, spoiled the party, as she copped the 97th running of the Jamaica St Leger in commanding fashion on Saturday.

By virtue of this victory in the native-bred three-year-old Futurity contest over 10 furlongs (2,000m), Thalita prolonged punters wait to witness another Triple Crown triumph at Caymanas Park, since Supreme Soul's feat in 2019, and it was a joy for DaCosta.

Sent off at 9-1 in a 12-horse field, Thalita, partnered with leading rider Reyan Lewis came from behind competitors in an exciting stretch run to win by a comfortable six-length margin. 

DaCosta will now have to decide on whether to run the Carlton Watson-owned filly in the Jamaica Oaks at the same distance or the blue riband Jamaica Derby over 12 furlongs (2,400m).

"My two fillies are pretty close in ability and both horses couldn't win so we had to come up with a plan where one goes to the lead and take the pressure and the other came off the pace. So, it worked out well and this one is ranked high in my achievements because nobody gave us a chance, everybody was talking about one horse Mojito and rightly so, so it's a good feeling to beat the odds-on favourite in a race like this," DaCosta said in a post-race interview.

At the off, it was Mamma Mia (Phillip Parchment) that expectedly dictated terms with Princess Sharon (Youville Pinnock), Thalita and Sensational Move (Shamaree Muir), all in a tight bunch heading into the clubhouse turn.

On the back stretch Mamma Mia and Princess Sharon continued their duel up front, with Huntsman (Raddesh Roman) and Mojito (Dane Dawkins), moving into striking positions, however, the latter who broke from the number one draw was bogged down on the inside rail and, as such, had no space for a run as the tempo increased.

When Mamma Mia and Princess Sharon made their moves and opened up a gap leaving the half mile, Thalita came knocking at the door and by the time they turned for home, the Soul Warrior-Luminous Trieste charger briskly swept by Princess Sharon and from there it was a matter of how far she would win, as the big favourite Mojito was nowhere to be seen.

Money Miser (Tevin Foster) closed well to snatch second from Princess Sharon, with Rhythm Buzz (Anthony Thomas) in fourth. Mamma Mia and Mojito placed fifth and eighth, respectively.

Thalita covered the distance in 2:11.0, behind splits of 24.1, 51.1, 1:15.4 and 1:41.4.

It was the second winner on the card for Lewis, who earlier won aboard Zabratone in the ninth race for trainer Nicholas Smith.

Dane Dawkins was the pick among the riders as the champion jockey tallied three winners on the 10-race card, following the abandonment of the second race. 

Dawkins partnered Secret Traveller for trainer Robert Ffrench in the fifth race; Atomica for trainer Gary Subratie in the supporting feature Clovis Metcalfe Trophy; and God of Love for trainer Rowan Mathie in the Midnight Angel Trophy.

Meanwhile, trainer Lawrence Freemantle topped his peers on the day with two winners. He saddled the Love of God (Javaniel Patterson) in the first race and Shadowfax (Raddesh Roman) in the third race.

William Buick is ever confident he can retain the jockeys’ title he won for the first time last year, following a Newmarket treble on Saturday.

The champion was in fine form, booting home Star of Mystery and debutant Dance Sequence for Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby and completed a hat-trick when coming with a late rattle to get the William Haggas-trained Royal Charter up in the dying strides of the mile fillies’ handicap.

Having run away with the title last season with 157 winners – 66 more than his closest rival – he now has to contend with former champion Oisin Murphy, who missed last term when suspended.

Murphy is neck and neck in the race for the title, having been in double form at Newcastle with Batal Dubai for Harry and Roger Charlton and Nobel for Andrew Balding.

But Buick is relishing the challenge to retain the crown and said: “It will be a ding-dong. Nothing changes.

“It is a long way to go, but you just go and do your best every day and hope you knock a few in.”

Paddy Power make it a two-horse race, with Murphy at 8-11 and Buick even-money, with Tom Marquand next best at 20-1.

Murphy partnered winners for 38 different trainers for his last championship in 2021, but Buick feels he is in pole position and added: “I’d be pretty confident (of winning the title). You have got to be consistent.

“I’m in a very privileged position with Godolphin, obviously, and the jockeys’ championship is something that I am going for.

“It’s always difficult, but I managed to balance it well last year and hopefully I’ll do it again this year.

“It will be a fascinating battle. I think it is what the sport wants. It’s good. It’s going to be good fun.”

Godolphin may have had limited guns to fire in this season’s Classics, yet Charlie Appleby can start to look ahead to next season with Dance Sequence, who was foot-perfect on her debut in the Blandford Bloodstock Maiden Fillies’ Stakes at Newmarket.

The imposing daughter of Dubawi showed immense promise in seven-furlong contest under William Buick, settling the 5-6 favourite at the back of the field before powering home on the far rail to score by half a length from Upscale.

The victory margin did not do justice to her superiority and Paddy Power and Betfair installed her at 33-1 for the next season’s 1000 Guineas.

“The mindset, although she was favourite, sometimes you want to be nearer to the fore than at the back,” said Appleby.

“William and I both were in agreement, she is a filly for the future and ride her to do it the right way round.

“William just rode her with a lot of confidence. She was a bit green early doors anyway, and she wouldn’t have done very much of that at home to be fair to her.

“There will be a marked improvement from that. To come off the pace like that, you can probably mark that performance up a little bit more, so that was a pleasing debut.”

Race The Wind, the other Godolphin runner in the six-strong field, finished fourth in the contest.

Appleby added: “The other filly would have been more forward than this one, but the winner is the classier filly.

“I was pleased with the way she picked up to come off the pace there. She is a filly who will get the mile at the backend of the season, for sure.

“She has an intelligent head on her and plenty of scope.”

Asked whether she would be one of the better ones at Moulton Paddocks, he laughed: “We don’t know how high up she is in the pecking order – we have just started opening the box up!

“But, yes, she is one of the better ones. The attributes are there. She is a Dubawi, she’s got the scope, the pedigree and she has apparently got the engine, to date.

“There is a big step to go to the Guineas, but it’s a good start. She has a lovely attitude. You like them to do it like that – she’s learned plenty today and it is all very well winning by 10 lengths but you don’t learn very much.”

Former jump jockey Robert Thornton sports a beard these days – “It’s so no one can recognise me”, he quipped – and was on hand to see Buick record a treble on the card when Royal Charter took the Racing TV Fillies’ Handicap.

The William Haggas-trained three-year-old had showed up well at Haydock last time and stayed on stoutly to score by a neck from Chealamy as the 2-1 favourite.

Thornton, racing manager for Apple Tree Stud, who own the daughter of Expert Eye, said: “She has won two now and hopefully she is progressive, but we are just going to have to mind her because she is quite hot.

“We will look after her and let her progress. Small steps, with a view to looking at Listed races at the end of the season. Something like that would be Plan A.”

Following Audience’s success in the Group Three Criterion Stakes, John and Thady Gosden completed a double when Spring Fever romped to a five-lengths success in the Mr Adrian Austin Memorial Filles’ Handicap in the hands of Robert Havlin.

A winner on her handicap debut at Redcar, she was a fair runner-up at Salisbury and easily justified 8-15 favouritism.

Havlin said: “She got into a lovely rhythm and there was no pace, so I let her get on with it.

“She has got a good turn of foot and I was able to sit on her to the three (furlong marker) and she quickened up between the three and two and put it to bed.

“She seems to be improving and she likes summer ground as well.”

Mashhoor was the beneficiary of a fine ride from Ben Coen as he put his race-fitness to good use and made all to claim the Paddy Power International Stakes.

Johnny Murtagh’s five-year-old arrived at the Curragh in fine form having followed up a victory in a Cork handicap by securing Listed honours in the 12-furlong Orby Stakes at the Kildare track most recently.

However, he faced a stiff task dropping back to 10 furlongs for this Group Three assignment, with Joseph O’Brien’s Group One-winning Al Riffa the 5-6 market leader on his return from a 293-day absence and Aidan O’Brien’s Alfred Munnings another well-fancied runner following a layoff.

Coen was keen to make Mashhoor’s fitness and proven stamina count, and immediately sent his mount to the front as Al Riffa tracked the pace in second.

And that was how the pair remained for the rest of the contest, as Coen kept upping the pace and asking questions of those in behind.

Passing the two-furlong pole Dylan Browne McMonagle was pushing away on Al Riffa, while all the time Mashhoor just kept extending his advantage over the chasing pack and when Coen firmly put the foot down in the closing stages, the willing son of Kingman drew further clear to finish just shy of five lengths clear at the line.

Former Gaelic footballer Tommy Dowd is part of the syndicate that own the winner, and Murtagh said: “It’s really very special when Tommy Dowd comes to you in the parade ring and says ‘I’m more nervous now than I was on all-Ireland day’. I said ‘ah come on, sure we don’t have anything to do any more – it’s up to Ben now’.

“In fairness to the horse you have to say he has improved immensely. He picked up a little injury last year and I suppose it stood to him this year.

“He’s been very straightforward this year and the races have come for him at the right time.

“There was no pace today and I said to Ben to let him roll along. He’s a leader, he leads the string at home.

“I knew when they turned in that they weren’t going to get to him because he wouldn’t stop. He won over a mile and a half last time. It was a great ride.

“It’s great for a syndicate to rock up on Derby weekend and be competitive in a very competitive Group Three.

“You can see the enjoyment it gives people, racing has that.”